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Congressman Rodney Davis (R-Ill.) will join Southern Illinois University Edwardsville Chancellor Julie Furst-Bowe and Lewis and Clark Community College President Dale Chapman to celebrate the institutions’ ongoing partnership Building Illinois’ Bioeconomy (BIB) at 9 a.m. Tuesday, June 23, at the NCERC at SIUE.

In October 2014, the Department of Labor awarded a nearly $10 million grant to SIUE as part of the Trade Adjustment Assistance Community College and Career Training (TAACCCT) initiative. The grant provides funding for the BIB consortium, which is comprised of five higher education institutions spanning the state of Illinois: SIUE, Lewis and Clark Community College (L&C) in Godfrey, Lincoln Land Community College (LLCC) in Springfield, Carl Sandburg College (CSC) in Galesburg and Southeastern Illinois College (SIC) in Harrisburg.

In June, BIB schools, federal and state lawmakers, Illinois agency heads and employer partners will come together for a project celebration, set to coincide with hands-on student training at the NCERC at SIUE, a nationally recognized research center dedicated to the development and commercialization of biofuels and other renewable compounds. During the grant-funded training, students from L&C’s Process Operations Technology (PTEC) program will utilize the pilot plant as a “micro-refinery” to gain hands-on training on critical unit operations used in the petroleum, ethanol, and other PTEC industries. 

The BIB consortium is 100 percent funded through the TAACCCT grant.

About Trade Adjustment Assistance Community College and Career Training (TAACCCT)

This round of funding builds on the Obama Administration’s focus on job-driven training by requiring grantees to expand employer engagement throughout the grant process. These employer and industry partners have identified necessary skills and competencies and will assist in designing curricula, programs, assessments or credentials that will help quickly connect ready-to-work Americans with ready-to-be-filled jobs.

The grants will expand programs in growing industries, such as advanced manufacturing, transportation and health care, and encourage geographic and industry sector collaboration. All course materials developed using these public funds will be available as Open Educational Resources so that others can access and build on successful training models. A White House fact sheet is available for further details.

Photo: Congressman Rodney Davis (left) with John Caupert, director of the NCERC at SIUE.